Stories, memories, pictures, facts(?), and sometimes opinions, from the mental library of a long-time Bush Rat and de Havilland Otter Pilot!

Saturday, August 13, 2005

"Fall Is Near", Or So It Feels In The Mornings.........

We were delayed this morning, due to major low level moisture. Fog, and persistent rain lingered for the better part of the morning. Then, finally, I "augered" off for Bradburn Lake, with a family going fishing!

Bradburn Lake is on the Bradburn River system which empties into Fishing Lake, east of Pauingassi Indian Reserve. It is owned and operated by Thunderbird Lodge And Outposts. It was originally built by Bob Polinuk from Selkirk Air. It is a fine fishery, with large walleye, and is loaded with yellow perch! I have flown into this camp for a number of years, and have fished this lake myself.

The cabin at Bradburn Lake!

An old "moose rack" welcomes you. I'm sure this moose made good stew for the "locals" at Pauingassi!

"Rustic" cabin.

Very beautifully finished inside!

The kitchen area.

I have to comment on the "outhouse" at Bradburn Lake. A number of years ago, I flew a couple of carpenters and a "pre-fab" outhouse they had made for Bradburn. They were worried I would scratch the wood as I loaded it in the Otter. "It's an outhouse, for crying out loud!" I told them. It was a full Otter load with them and their tools, but "what an outhouse"! Check it out!

The "outhouse" at Bradburn Lake!

An outhouse was never like this!

Where on earth can you get a "view from the seat" like you can from the "outhouse at Bradburn Lake"? (I still figure it should have been a "2-holer", to share some moments of "togetherness"!)

Anyways, I finished my work by about 6 PM this evening, and I thought I would get some pics of a plane that showed up at Silver Falls the other day. The fellow flying the aircraft, and his passengers, went fishing at Dogskin Lake Lodge.

A "Cirrus" SR 22!

Look at the "scimitar" prop on this baby!

This is a very fine-looking aircraft, made from composite materials!

Very nice lines, and it has a "glass panel", and leather interior!

Well, so long for today, time for a "Lucky Lager"! (No, it isn't my favourite beer, but in Manitoba a 6-pack of Lucky is only $6.50!)

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QUOTES

"In the untimely loss of your noble son, our affliction here, is scarcely less than your own. So much of promised usefulness to one's country, and of bright hopes for one's self and friends, have rarely been so suddenly dashed, as in his fall."

-President Abraham Lincoln

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem."

-President Ronald Reagan

"Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without your accordion."

- General Norman Schwarzkopf

"Hope is not a strategy."

- General Tommy Franks

"Had we lived I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman. These rough notes and our dead bodies must tell the tale."

- Robert Falcon Scott

"When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost."

- Reverend Billy Graham

"Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed."

- Dr. Martin Luther King

"Burn my Flag and I will shoot you........but I'll shoot you with a lot of love, like a good American."

- Johnny Cash

"Success is not the result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire."

- Reggie Leach

"When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it."